Practice
by Willoryn
Summary: Your good friend, Mathew, has been meaning to tell you something... But no matter how hard he tries he just can't seem to get the words out. Maybe he just needs a little practice. ReaderxCanada


"Ugh... Not again."

You glanced up from Kumajiro, who was sleeping in your lap, to see your good friend Mathew, or Canada as he was formally known, scolding himself in the middle of the ice rink you guys frequented every week.

Mathew usually came here every week to practice his love for hockey for a couple hours, much to your interest, and you wanted in on it.

Every single time you saw the Canadian, he was always sitting in the back. Never called on. Never acknowledged. Hell, he barely even spoke or made an attempt. It just made you all the more curious about the mysterious country. Something inside you called out to him. You wanted to get to know him more. No, you felt like you **needed** to get closer to him. You couldn't explain it. So one day you caved and spoke to him, using his love for hockey as a line into getting to know him better (after much protest from Mathew and hours of explaining to you that you would find it boring.)

After that, you two became inseparable. The more you got to know him, the more you realized how well the two of you meshed and you began to see each other outside of the meetings by way of hockey practice.

Eventually, this just became a thing you guys regularly did together. Every week the two of you would meet up at the rink and you would watch your good friend practice. You had thought about joining yourself, heck, Mathew had asked you a couple times if you wanted to just skate around a bit. But, each time you politely declined. This was his time to relax. God knows he needed it. And you didn't dare get in his way. You just provided pleasant conversation and gave Kumajiro a warm lap to nap on.

But, today was not one of those days. He was getting very upset with himself over his mess-ups. Which was a bit strange. In fact, he has been acting a little differently lately. And it was most evident when he played hockey.

"Shoot!" You heard him whisper to himself as he missed another shot, followed by a quiet grumble to himself.

You knew you shouldn't but it was hard to keep yourself from smiling. He was really adorable when he was upset. Being shy, quiet, and not to mention the nicest person you knew, it was hard for him to process anger well. So, instead of being intimidating, he just came off about as threatening as a teddy bear.

Still, as cute as his little temper tantrums were, you didn't want to just sit here and watch him punish himself for a couple silly mistakes.

"Hey, Mattie," You called out endearingly. "You wanna take a break?"

Mathew perked up at the sound of (y/n)'s voice from the seats and sighed. He skated over to you and stepped down into the player's benches with you.

"You're not bored, are you (y/n)?" He asked softly.

You shook your head and smiled up at him. "Not at all. I just thought maybe you'd like to take a short break. You were looking pretty upset."

Canada blushed a bit and sat down next to you. Had she really noticed?

"Yeah..." He sighed and looked down at his feet.

"What are you upset about?"

He idly tapped his hockey stick against the floor. "I don't know, I'm just not doing as good as I usual. I think I may be practicing too much..."

He sat down beside you and you patted his shoulder. "Not at all! The more you practice, the better you get. And so what if you fumble a few times? Eventually you'll get it right. Besides, I thought you were doing great! Wasn't he, kumajiro?"

The polar bear looked up from his nap and tilted his head. "Who'r you?"

You giggled nervously and roughly stroked Kumajiro's head roughly. "See? We thought you did fine."

Canada smiled at you as a light blush came across his cheeks at the compliment. "Thank you, (y/n). I appreciate that."

You didn't want to admit it, but you could have sworn you felt your heart skip a beat. You were about to say something before you caught sight of the clock on the wall.

 _Time to go._ You thought sadly.

You wrapped your arms around Kumajiro and picked him up as you headed for the exit, Canada right beside you. Unfortunately it was getting really late and it was time to go home. This was always the hardest part in your opinion. You and Canada had grown so close over the past few months, it was getting harder and harder to say goodbye.

On your way to the lobby, you smirked and playfully pushed against his shoulder with yours. "I'm not distracting you, am I?"

Mathew stumbled over himself at the question as his cheeks reddened. ""

You sighed sadly and stopped at the double doors to the stadium and handed Canada his polar bear.

"Well, I guess it's that time." You said as you pulled him into a tight hug and tried to hide the sadness in your voice. "Same time next week?"

The blonde nodded happily. "Y-Yeah... If you're still interested."

You gave a huff and put your hands on your hips. "Mattie, every week you say that. And what do I always do? I always come back. I'm not going to just forget about you and stop meeting you here." You looked him in the eyes and spoke with as much sincerity as possible. "I promise."

The blond didn't respond. Instead he just gulped and looked as though he was pondering something.

You gave him a sweet smile and started out the door. "I'll see you later."

"H-Hey, (y/n)?" You heard Canada suddenly say and you stopped in your tracks immediately, turning to him.

"Yeah?"

He seemed to be in thought about something for a moment or two, like he wanted to say something but just couldn't find the words. He opened his mouth to speak but decided against it.

"Uh, nothing. I'll see you next week." He said softly.

You nodded and headed out the door, leaving Mathew and Kumajiro in the stadium.

Once he was alone, the country gave a sad sigh of disappointment. "Kumajiro... What's gotten into me lately?"

"Who'r you?" As the bear typically responded.

"I... I know why I've been messing up a lot, lately. I keep thinking about (y/n). I just... I really like her, Kumajiro. But, I can't seem to get the words out... What if she blows me off?"

Kumajiro turned slightly to face the country. "You should just come out and ask her anyway." He said simply with a yawn. "The way you try to hide your feelings is really embarrassing."

Mathew felt a twinge of fear shoot through him. "What!? I-Is it really that obvious!?"

However, the white bear had no further insight to give and just simply fell back to sleep.

Maybe the annoying ball of fluff was right. Maybe he should just come out and say something. But... How!? He's never done something like that before. Personally, he readily avoided such embarrassing situations. But, if it was really bothering him this much then surely it would just be easier to just tell you the truth and be done with it... right?

 _That's easier said than done._

Like usual, he settled with a deal to himself that maybe next week will be different. Maybe next week he'll finally have the guts to ask you out.

Or the week after that...

Canada sighed sadly and walked outside to return home and wait for the next 6 long days to pass so he could see you again.

* * *

 _"Excuse me... Mister Canada?"_

 _The blonde almost didn't react at first. It wasn't often that anyone called him out to speak to him (unless they were looking for America) much less acknowledge him. Unsure if it was just his imagination, he turned slightly at first and saw that someone was in fact standing beside him. He turned completely and when he realized it was (y/n), his heart immediately sped up. You were one of the newer countries that had just started to attend some of these world meetings that had been flourishing pretty well. Much better than some._

 _Not to mention he thought you were absolutely stunning._

 _What on earth did you want with him? Oh god, had you noticed him looking at you during the meeting!?_

 _"Um.. Yes?" He asked bracing for a scolding._

 _You gave him a warm smile. "I really don't mean to embarrass you or anything... But I just wanted to congratulate you on your gold medal."_

 _At first, the older country didn't respond. He just continued staring at you as if waiting for the next words to come out of your mouth to be "psych!". But when you just stared back at him without another word it became clear._

 _You were being serious._

 _Canada felt his heart pick up at the compliment. "O-Oh! Well... Thanks a lot. That's very kind of you." He said with a nervous laugh. "A-And you can call me Mathew."  
_

 _You nodded and shifted awkwardly. "And also... Um... Ugh, this is gonna sound really lame." You said._

 _"N-Not at all. Go right ahead."_

 _You started twiddling your fingers nervously. "Well, I was talking to America about it and he said that you practice a lot. Every week or so. And I was just wondering... If it's alright with you... If I could come watch you practice sometime?"_

 _It was all Canada could do to keep from pinching himself after those words came out of your face. Where did this come from all of a sudden? Was this some sort of weird joke? Surely America put you up to this. England? France? Hell, Cuba!? There was no possible way you were standing before him, asking if you could spend the day watching him play hockey._

 _But the longer he stared into your beautiful (e/c) eyes, he couldn't deny the sincerity in them._

 _"I-I mean, I-If you really want to..." He said quietly._

 _Your faced brightened. "Really!? I can?"_

 _"You might get bored..."_

 _You shook your head. "I won't! Now, where and when do you practice?"_

* * *

Ever since that day, the two of you met up every week to hang out and watch Canada play hockey. He really felt bad to see you just sitting on the sidelines but you always insisted that you just liked to watch. He got you to skate around every so often. But aside from that, you just sat and watched him.

Not that he minded. He rather liked it when you gave him all your attention.

He liked everything about you, really. Your hair, your eyes, your beautiful smile... Most of all he liked, no, he loves the kindness you show him through the course of your friendship. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed or joked with someone as much as he did with you. He just felt like he could be himself around you. And you always remembered him! How great was that? You always saw him. And for all of those reasons, he was eternally thankful.

To himself and others, he was just a shadow in the background. But with you he felt like he was on top of the world

Speaking of, where were you? Canada had already entered the stadium and had been waiting for you for some time now.

After 30 minutes had passed and there was no sign of you, he just started practicing like usual. Anything to distract himself from assuming that something had happened to you.

You would be here, he knew that. You were probably just running late or maybe you had an emergency to attend to. A lot could happen in one week. One whole... excruciatingly long week.

 _"I'm not going to just forget about you."_

That's when Canada's thoughts drifted back to what Kumajiro said.

 _"You should just come out and say something."_

He was right, Canada thought. He should, no, he **had** to. The longer he put it off, the harder it would be. And he couldn't keep lying to you like this. You had so much trust in him already, just not telling you felt like he was betraying that trust.

That was more than enough motivation he needed. He felt a wave of confidence he hadn't felt in a long time come over him. He swore that before the day was over, he would ask you out.

 _I got this! How hard could it be?_

"Mattie! I'm here!" Canada gave a startled jump and squeak at the sound of your voice and he turned to see you bounding over to him from across the rink. And for some reason, you seemed to be having a hard time running. When you opened the door to the rink and stepped onto the ice, he finally realized why.

You were wearing skates and holding a hockey stick.

A twinge of fear struck him as you slid over to him clumsily, making him mentally "d'awww" for only a second.

"(y/n)?" He asked nervously. "What are you doing...?"

You stopped in front of him with your hands on your hips.

"I'm gonna play a game with you." You stated proudly.

"Play with me?" He asked as if those words were foreign to him. He certainly hoped it wasn't what he thought you meant. "What do you mean?"

"I'm gonna play hockey with you, silly!" You waved a blue hockey stick you found in the lobby in front of him.

Yep. It was exactly what he thought you meant.

"B-But you don't know how to play!" He exclaimed softly, trying to talk you out of it.

You nodded with a smile. "Then teach me! You've been way too upset lately and I'm not gonna lie, it's starting to worry me. I'm not gonna ask why, but whatever it is I want to help make it better. And, since practicing on your own isn't helping, I figured maybe a playful warm-up game would help you blow off some steam and relax."

Canada smiled softly at you, despite himself. You were really too good to be true. "W-Well, I appreciate that, (y/n), but-"

"But what? It'll be fun, I promise! Just try to go easy on me." You gave him a playful wink, completely oblivious to the color that came to his cheeks. "So, let's do this!" You said enthusiastically as you gripped your hockey stick in a ready pose.

However, Canada was having none of it.

He quickly shook his head and looked at you pleadingly. "Wait, (y/n), you don't understand. I-I can't possibly play with you!"

You gave an offended huff and crossed your arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hockey is a rough sport. People get hurt. And whenever I'm really focused, sometimes I don't realize how rough I'm being." He frowned and looked down at his feet. "W-What if I accidentally hurt you?"

You paused for a moment as you remembered he was right. You remembered when you watched it on t.v. And you remembered how rough those guys could get out there. It was truly a wonder how no one remembered Canada when his team was out there annihilating dudes. But this was Mathew you were dealing with here. He was about as threatening as Kumajiro.

You shook your head and smiled. "Then don't get too focused. This is just for fun, remember?"

"B-But-"

You held his gloved hands in yours and gave him a soft smile that shut him up.

"Please, Mattie," you pleaded. "I'll be fine. Besides, I'm a big girl. I can handle a couple bruises."

Mathew still didn't like it. He'd practice with America every so often (another one of Alfred's bonding decisions) and more often than not the American would leave with a black eye or two. And each time, Mathew felt horrible and always kicked himself over it. He never liked to hurt anyone. The idea of you getting hurt? He couldn't bear to think about it.

But, before he could protest any further, you had already skated away from him and was clumsily trying to push the puck into the goal behind him. You struck and cheered to yourself.

"Ha! See, I got this!" You claimed proudly.

Canada chuckled softly and slid over beside you and took control of the puck with his hockey stick and pointed at the goal on the opposite end.

"Actually, my goal is on that side." He gestured to your stick. "You have the blue stick. This is the blue goal."

You blushed slightly as he then shot it behind you into the goal you just scored in.

"One point for me." He said with a smile.

You playfully blew a raspberry at him and pulled the puck out of the goal and started toward the opposite end of the rink. "Yeah, I knew that." You teased. "I was just making sure you were paying attention."

As soon as you said that, Canada came out of nowhere and swiped it from you, flying right back from whence you came, scoring another goal. You just stared, dumbfounded as be just gave you his usual innocent smile.

"You don't want to just keep your eyes on the puck. Always observe your surroundings."

You smirked and went after it again, stealing and running off in the other direction, much to Mathew's protest.

"(y)-(y/n)!"

"Come on, Mattie!" You called over your shoulder. "You're not really going to let me win, are you?"

Canada gave a sigh and hesitated before going after you. _Just a short game..._

However it didn't turn out as just a short game.

It started off as you trying to get the puck away from the other country. Which was challenging enough. He was so fast and knew exactly what he was doing. Meanwhile, you were exhausting yourself just trying to keep up. However, he noticed this and started to "accidentally" let the puck end up with you. As much as he didn't want to, he really tried to avoid any contact with you as possible out of fear of you getting hurt.

Which you seemed to be doing enough of on your own.

You fell here and there and each time Canada was there to pick you up and brush you off, always asking if you wanted to quit. But each time you said no no matter how bruised up you were getting. For the first time in two weeks you were finally seeing him smile while he played again. His spirit was back and you didn't want it to go away.

You thought he was so handsome when he smiled.

 _Whoa, down girl._

But, could you really deny it? His hockey playing skill wasn't the only reason you could never take your eyes off of him. Despite his average frame and innocent demeanor, you couldn't help but imagine the man was heaven incarnate under that jersey. Not to mention he had those large eyes that always sent a chill down your spine whenever he looked at you the same way a child would look at a delicious chocolate bar that he desperately wanted to reach for but refrained out of fear of being scolded.

It nearly drove you insane.

 _You keep thinking like this and you'll melt the ice._

 _Shut up, me._

As the day drew on, you found your skill increasing. You were actually putting up a challenge. Or so you thought. You had better balance and you were actually able to maneuver around without falling on your rear. Heck, you even managed to dribble the puck across the rink every now and then. You were doing good!

 _Maybe a little too good..._

Now that you thought of it, The Canadian didn't really seem to be putting up much of a challenge. He was the expert here, why wasn't he getting any goals?

That's when it hit you. _He's going easy on me..._

As flattered as you should have felt, it was immediately swept away by a wave of pride. You didn't mind a little handicap, but he wasn't even trying! You pondered what you could do to amp him up a bit...

You had just scored another goal when you paused in the middle of the rink to catch your breath. He seemed to do the same. You were both going at this for what seemed forever now and he was still being as gentle with you as before. You may as well be playing with Kumajiro!

"You okay, (y/n)?" He heard him ask.

"Yeah... Just catching my breath real quick." You said between breaths.

That's when he gave you a cute smile that you could have sworn held an air of cheekiness. "I can go a bit easier on you, if you want."

 _Why that little- Alright! No more miss nice country!_ You thought to yourself.

It was time to play dirty.

Canada dropped the puck between the two of you and you instantly went for it as fast as you could, trying to knock Canada's stick out of the way however his reflexes were faster and voluntarily moved away from you. No! You wanted him to act not avoid! Almost in an insisting manner, you "accidentally" pushed the puck at him. He almost seemed confused as to what to do with it and instead of "accidentally" tossing it back to you, he ran off with it, earning a triumphant grunt out of you.

You had to admit, he was fast. It was the fastest you had seen him skate during this whole darn game. You were actually having a hard time catching up to him! You grumbled as you pushed yourself as much as you could and, much to his surprise, you actually caught up to him and entangled your sticks in an attempt to get the puck away. You got it away from him for just a fraction of a second before you saw Canada come in from the corner of your eye and you were not having any of that.

You smirked and bit your lip as you decided to pull out the big guns.

Once Canada was right beside you and moved in to steal, you pushed all your weight against him, taking him off his balance and falling with a confused squeak that was truly adorable. You felt bad, but you were having fun. He was right about it being a rough sport after all.

You were flying closer to your goal, not bothering to keep a close eye on your surroundings. You thought you had lost Canada when you knocked him on his ass a ways back and victory was yours! That was until you heard the sound of skates colliding with ice growing closer and closer.

Very quickly.

Feeling a chill go up your spine, you spun around quickly to see your friend flying toward you with hardcore determination that made you wish for a split second that you weren't the one he was coming after. Before you could react, he swung his stick down as hard as he could, smacking the puck away from you and causing your stick to fly out of your hands. The force of the swing was so that you felt yourself lose balance and start to fall back. However, Canada instantly snapped out of his concentration and quickly grabbed you, knowing that if you fell back at this speed you were just bound to get a concussion or worse, and pulled you against his chest and took the fall onto his back.

The two of you slid across the ice for a good couple seconds before coming to a complete stop under the net. After what seemed like an eternity of your entire body throbbing, you lifted yourself up a bit and coughed as you tried to retain the wind that was just knocked out of you.

"Mathew, are you okay!?" Just then you opened your eyes to find a very red faced Canada underneath you. And also that you were currently sitting on him, making your face warm up as well.

"Oh, Mattie, I'm sor-" Quickly, you shot up and hit the back of your head on the net rail with a loud _thunk_. "OW!"

"(Y/n), a-are you okay!?" You heard your friend ask frantically as you tried to pull yourself off him without getting hit by the goalie bar again.

However, your panicking was only causing you to make it even worse for yourself as you got your hair caught in the net.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just kinda stuck."

"H-here let me help you."

You didn't know why, but with Mathew so close it was only making you more nervous and frantic. Through a stroke of poor decision making, you tried to stand up as soon as Canada managed to get to his knees. Unfortunately, you had forgotten that ice was in fact, very slippery.

"W-Wait, (y/n), your gonna fa- ah!"

Canada couldn't finish his warning before you lost your footing and slipped back, grabbing onto your friend for safety only to have him call and landing on top of you with an _oof!_ , colliding your foreheads.

Mathew fell back away from you and onto his rear across from you, softly groaning.

You just laid on the ice as your head throbbed along with the rest of your body. But, no matter how badly your head throbbed and pounded, it couldn't drown out the whirlwind of thoughts that swirled through your head just moments ago that caused your face to heat up with the fury of a thousand suns.

But you knew you couldn't lie there forever so you sat up and put your hand to your head and pull away when you felt a little wetness. You nearly blanched when you saw speckles of blood on your fingertips. Damn, that man had a hard head.

Speaking of, you looked forward to see what state your friend was in and you nearly went pale. Not only did he have a wound on his head that was slightly bloody, but he looked incredibly sad. Like he had just committed a terrible crime that he deeply regretted. He even had tears teasing the corners of his eyes that would have been adorable on any other occasion.

You nearly jumped out of your skin when he pushed himself forward and held you by the shoulders and looked you over to make sure nothing was broken.

"I'm so sorry, (y/n), are you okay?" He apologized while inspecting you. "I-I got too focused on the game a-and I really tried not to but I did and I lost control and now I've ruined everything and probably scared you and-!"

During his unending string of apologies, you reached out and put your hands on either side of his head which silenced him Immediately.

He blinked at you, confused. "Wh-Wha-?"

You pulled him into a tight hug. "Hush your adorable face. Everything is okay."

His expression immediately changed to embarrassment and he blushed furiously.

"B-But-"

You pulled away and looked at him with a smile. "It's fine, Mattie, really. Now, how about we get up off this ice and clean ourselves up? It's getting really cold."

Mathew bit down any further protest and helped you out of the rink and into the chairs. He started tending to the nasty wound he gave you using a first aid kit Canada always brought with him. As he was dabbing your forehead with a cotton ball, he continued to apologize profusely.

"I-I really am sorry, (y/n). I didn't mean to lose control." He said quietly.

"I know, Matt."

"And I'm sorry for falling on you, and head-butting you, and-"

"It's alright, Mattie!" You tried to reassure him. "Don't worry about it. It was an accident. I swear if you apologize one more time I'm going to stick that cotton ball in your nose."

"S-Sorry..."

You sighed and shook your head, smiling to yourself. He was so hopeless. But you knew he wouldn't be acting like this if he didn't genuinely care about you. And that mere fact warmed your heart. He really was the sweetest man alive and you loved him for it.

"All done!" He softly declared and pulled up a band-aid.

But, before he could place it over your wound, you happily slapped a maple leaf band-aid over it instead.

You wanted to burst out laughing at how at a loss for words he was. "Seriously?"

You used your hand to stifle your laughter as you stuck one on your own forehead. "I'm sorry, I thought it was cute. You can have one too, if you want."

He chuckled and allowed you to place one on his forehead before his thoughts drifted to a question that made him frown.

He sat down next to you and stared at his lap. "Hey, (y/n)? I didn't scare you, did I?" He asked softly.

You hesitated, unsure how to answer. You decided to be honest. "I mean, a little... But it was kinda cool!" You quickly reassured him. "It was just like watching you on TV, but up close! Also, remind me to never tick you off. You have one hell of a swinging arm." you joked.

The blonde wasn't sure how to feel about that. But he supposed it couldn't be helped and just took your word for it. The very fact that you weren't sobbing and telling him to never speak to you again is evidence enough that you weren't too bothered by it. The moment you had fallen, he was expecting you to completely cast him off and vow to never see him again.

The very thought made his heart ache more than you could imagine.

Mathew was suddenly taken out of his thoughts when he felt your arms wrap around his and you laid your head on his shoulder.

He really hoped you couldn't hear his heart racing right now...

"Please don't be sad, Mattie." You mumbled. You sounded really tired.

If his head was able to spontaneously explode, it would have.

And it didn't help that you were looking him over with your large (e/c) eyes that were showing complete and genuine concern for him.

Those beautiful eyes.

 _Do it._

"(y/n)!" He said suddenly, causing you to almost jump out of your skin. "I was just wondering... If... Possibly... Maybe..."

You stared at him, his innocent blue eyes staring back at you with a swirling mix of fear and determination. And his face was so red you were almost afraid he was about to explode.

"I-I... uh... Oh maple..." He sighed, defeated. "Nevermind."

 _You screwed up. Again._

However, you weren't having any of it this time. You shook him gently. "What is it, Mattie?"

He shook his head. "I-It's really nothing..."

"It's obviously something."

"It's not... I-I'm just being stupid."

"You can tell me..."

 _No I can't... I don't want to lose you..._

"You're not acting like yourself." You started again. "What's got you so bothered lately?"

 _I just want you..._

"N-Nothing..."

 _But I WANT to tell you..._

"Now, listen here." You said in a scolding manner. "I don't care how easy you go on me in hockey, but you better not go easy on me when it comes to something like this. I didn't want to pry into any problems you were having because you're my friend and I don't want to seem nosy... But now it's really starting to worry me and... I feel like I have something to do with it..." You looked down at your lap sadly before meeting his eyes again. "So, can you please just tell me?"

However the blonde was completely silent and avoided your eyes. You put your hands on his face and turned him to face you.

"Mattie?" You asked softly. "Are you trying to tell me you want me to stop coming with you to practice?"

His heart sank.

"O-Of course not!"

"Then what is it?"

All he could do was gulp. Was he really supposed to just come out and say it!? He knew he could talk to you about anything, but this... This was surely going to make you laugh in his face.

But... At the same time he ached for you.

You stared intently at your friend as you watched him ponder for his answer. Deep in your heart, you were both excited and afraid of his answer. You had a suspicion of what it was... You had already come to terms with how you felt about him. Now you hoped this would be the day he had come to terms with his.

He almost didn't need to. He made it painfully obvious anyway.

The way he spoke to you. The way he treated you like some precious jewel that he was afraid he'd break if he wasn't careful. The way he looked at you. It all crossed far beyond friendliness.

He had it real bad for you.

And you'd be lying if you didn't feel the same. But the way he was just dancing around the bush like this was enough to send you over the edge. He really was insufferable at times.

Gods, how you just wished you could have a quick taste of those lips... Just a quick taste.

Unable to stand it any longer you grabbed Canada by the front of his jersey and pulled him toward you, crashing your lips into his.

He gave a surprised and muffled grunt and his entire body went completely stiff as his mouth was currently being assaulted by a feeling he had never experienced before.

When you pulled away and opened your eyes, you swore you had never seen a redder face on a man. Though, you weren't one to talk. For all you knew your face could be as red as a tomato with how warm your cheeks felt right now.

"(y)-(y/n)...?" He said in just barely a whisper.

You didn't respond, as you were too busy trying to suppress your intense need to smother your face into his shoulder again to hide the embarrassment in your face. Instead, you stuck to your guns and just stared at him with all the confidence you could muster.

"W-What was that for?" He asked, his voice shaking.

Your eyes never left his as you spoke softly. "Well... One of us had to do it..."

Canada's head was reeling at this point, trying to calm the whirlwind of emotions swimming through his head at one time and slow his rapidly beating heart.

"Does that mean..."

You nodded. "You?"

He answered by pulling you into another kiss, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you closer to him so that you were practically in his lap. By gods, the man could kiss. The way his lips moved in time with yours had you convinced you were going to melt at any second.

In return, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders and tried your damnedest to get closer to him, but your current position kept you from doing so. And when he deepened the kiss, you almost felt your legs give out.

He really kept this from you for far too long.

Your hands clutched his shoulders and urged him to continue as he pulled away for just a moment so he could catch his breath. But before he could ravish your mouth again, you felt something fat and soft come between the two of you and shove you off of him, sending you to the floor with a startled squeak.

"K-Kumajiro!" Canada scolded the tired polar bear that had curled itself on the country's lap.

"I'm tired." It said simply with a yawn.

Mathew gave an annoyed grumble at the stupid thing, causing you to giggle despite yourself.

"It must be bedtime." You said with a smile even though you secretly wanted to strangle the fluff ball.

"Unfortunately." He sighed. "I didn't realize it was so late."

You stood and brushed yourself off before giving him a knowing look. "I didn't mean to take up so much of your time."

He smiled at you. "I didn't mind!"

You playfully whacked him in the arm. "Yeah, I bet you didn't."

The two of you laughed and gathered your things to leave. It certainly was bedtime, you thought. After everything that happened today you imagined a nice warm bath followed by a deep sleep in your near future. And though your body might ache like it's nobody's business tomorrow, you could safely say that it was all worth it. You just wished it could last a little longer...

You stopped at the doors to the building and turned to face Mathew, who was currently holding your hand, and smiled.

"So, same time next week?" You asked.

He nodded happily. "Yeah."

You pulled him into a hug and planted a kiss on his cheek before starting out the door.

"Uh, (y/n)?" You heard Mathew say quietly.

You turned back to him. "Yeah?"

He shifted awkwardly for a second, keeping his eyes on his feet as a light blush came to his cheeks.

"Maybe... Next week, instead of practicing, I can take you out someplace?"

 _Was that really what all this fuss was about?_ You chuckled and shook your head. That was Mattie for you...

Your smile widened as you gave an affirmative hum. "I'd like that."

Mathew felt like he had just won the lottery, as if this whole day could get any better... All things considered. You exchanged another sweet kiss with the Canadian and took your leave, leaving him on cloud nine. It took everything in his power not to cheer and jump around like a kid on Christmas morning. He held Kumajiro out in front of him and turned the bear around to face him.

"I did it!" He declared. "I finally asked her... And she-... She feels the same way. Can you believe it?"

The white polar bear yawned. "Who'r you?"

Mathew pulled the bear back into a hug and marched out the door. He may not have able to make the first move, but he would keep trying.

After all, practice makes perfect.


End file.
